This issue originally published as A Course for TeachersFebruary 1994, Volume 1 Nr 6, Issue 6

The Relationship

What am I here for? What is the purpose of my life?
According to A Course in Miracles, life's main goal is the achievement of InnerPeace. Life's main function is forgiveness.

Everything and everyone that we encounter
establishes a relationship between itself and us. Relationships with other people become special
when we find in others something that we find lacking in ourselves. Many of our
relationships are such special relationships. The pain and suffering that we
ultimately must feel from these special relationships occur when these people let
us down, as they must. Since no one can meet all our expectations, they inevitably fail our
visions of what they should be.

The ego conjures up how everyone else should behave.
It specializes in failed special relationships. Our relation-ships with our
students (and everyone else) are testing grounds and opportunities to learn from each
other.

Educational institutions have a tendency to cast
people into molds. We expect conformity and uniformity. We set up criteria by which to
judge. The classroom can easily become the egos den as we classify and pigeon-hole
people.

Teachers may have preconceived notions of how
students should behave. We may judge them by their accomplishments or lack thereof. It is
easy to dismiss people because of their negative behavior. Judging based upon personality
or appearance negates both the function (forgiveness) and the goal (Inner Peace) of life.
"Comparison must be an ego device, for love makes none."

Karma

In The Seat of the Soul, Gary Zukav
describes each of us as having a personality and a soul. The personality is
born, develops and dies. The soul goes on and continues. Zukav says that the soul evolves
through many incarnations of chosen personalities. There are lessons to learn.

The personality requires healing. It is that part of
oneself that the soul chooses in order to work out some of its unfinished business. The
soul chooses a particular physical form to meet one of its evolutionary needs. Karma is
the balancing of our energies from all our physical forms and personalities, including
those from who we are now.

Zukav states that the dynamic of Karma suggests that
those who intend hatred, harm, prejudice, disrespect and other negativity will experience
these intentions from others. What goes around comes around.

Negativity abounds around us, in the classroom and
the world. We cannot respond to negativity with negativity or judgment. We have no idea
what Karmic debts are being settled through the negative behavior of others.

Recognizing that Karmic justice is being worked out
helps us prevent responding negatively and adding to our own Karmic imbalance. We simply
respond with what needs to be done. However, we do not judge. We respond with compassion.

Healing takes place when we
uplift our special relationships to the status of holiness. Holy relationships
occur when we recognize that others need not behave according to our scripts in order for
us to love them. We are complete within ourselves. Holiness occurs when we change
our viewpoint through conscious awareness that people are not their behavior. They arehuman
beings, not human doings. I believe that we are on this planet to heal relationships. What
we believe and what we see, and what we experience depends directly on the thoughts that
we have in our minds.

Attitudinal Healing

The definition of Attitudinal Healing as written by
Gerald Jampolsky in his book Love is the Answer is the process of letting go of the
fearful, guilty, angry, negative thoughts that so many of us carry in our minds.
Attitudinal Healing is based on thepremise that it is nototherpeople
or circumstances that cause us to be upset. Rather, our own thoughts and attitudes about
those people and circumstances cause us distress.

While discussing this topic with friends, one
of them retorted, "What do you mean it's our own thoughts and attitudes" that
cause us distress. "You mean to tell me that on my way home, some drugged driver
collides with me head on and sends me to the hospital; that it is ME that is making
me upset?" Didn't something just happen out-side that created the distress?

The positions and the attitudes we hold, and
the perceptions we have of external events, no matter how abhorrent or tragic (and even
pleasant and uplifting) are seen in their intensity based upon our preprogrammed response
to them. These programs come from the significant others in our lives, most notably from
our parents and early guardians. Quite possibly, some of the programs are the souls
chosen adoption of personality characteristics in order to balance Karma.

Jampolsky, in his writings, which are the
everyday persons version of A Course in Miracles, defines the ego somewhat
differently than a Freudian might. To Jampolsky, the ego is the script writer, director,
cast, producer, film maker, and projectionist of our past pain and suffering onto the
screen of life. As we go through life encountering circumstances that resemble our past
pain, the ego runs the film or tape and we respond with all too familiar, but not
necessarily recognizable, programming. The ego creates. The ego convinces us that it
is god. This strong recurring voice chattering in our minds is a master at deception,
blaming others for injustices, seeing external world events as the cause of all our trials
and tribulations. There are many voices in our heads. Most of them are the ego in
disguise.

Another Voice

The ego calls for separation, justified anger and
attack. There is another voice. The Inner Voice of Peace (some call it intuition or
the voice of God) says, "Let go." Yes, as my friend put it, that head on
collision did cause distress and upset. If the goal truly is Inner Peace, then there is no
other choice than to let go.

Doubt and faith are in fine balance with each other.
There is a yin-yang coexistence allowing one to make sense of the other. Too much faith
leads to stagnation while too much doubt may lead to depression. The concepts of
Attitudinal Healing are ideals. They are attainable ideals.

A Course in Miracles suggests that there is
no such thing as sin. It states that people make mistakes. Mistakes are undone through
correction. The mistakes are then forgiven.

Forgiveness is "for-giving" to others the
Inner Peace which we wish for ourselves. A Course in Miracles states that
forgetting is part of forgiveness. Forgetting is "for-getting" Inner Peace.
Giving and receiving are the same. In other words, we extend to others that which we wish
for ourselves.

If we listen to the ego, we extend conflict. If we
listen to the voice of Inner Peace or the anti-ego, we extend love. We can always choose
which path we wish to take. We can learn to trust the voice of Inner Peace.

Spirituality

Spirituality is our moment to moment internal mental
state of affairs. We may describe it by the phrases, "I am in good spirits" or
"I am in bad spirits." Thus, spirituality or my spirits are a function of where
my head is at. Sometimes, we are aware of our spirits or spirituality. Most times, we are
not. We can choose to be more conscious.

We waste our time and valuable energy when we try to
find answers in terms of the past. The past does not matter. Gerald Jampolsky says that
history would not exist if our errors were not repeated over and over again in the
present.

I first came across Gerald Jampolsky in January of
1991 when I went to the bookstore looking for a birthday gift for my spouse, JeanneE. I
came cross his book Good Bye to Guilt and read a third of it before I left the
store.It was a stressful time in my life. Through depression, I lost thirty-five
pounds in a few months. I believe all things happen for a reason. At that moment I was
ready for my next step in spiritual growth.

I corresponded with Gerald Jampolsky on three
occasions. I wrote him each time from Children's Hospital while our son Dylan was in
surgery. Dylans medical history includes nineteen operations. At age five, he
received my kidney. Dr. Jampolsky responded each time. He is one individual who has healed
his relationship with himself, others and his God.

Years ago, Jerry Jampolsky was a psychiatrist
specializing in substance abuse treatments. At the same time, he had a similar problem. He
followed his Inner Voice. After studying A Course in Miracles, he transformed his
life. Presently, Dr. Jampolsky deals exclusively with catastrophically ill children and
their families. He opened dozens of Attitudinal Healing clinics nationwide. Recently, Dr.
Jampolsky opened a clinic for children with AIDS.

For Jampolsky, A Course in Miracles was a
revelation. He studied the manuscript and learned to listen to his Inner Voice. It told
him, "Physician, heal thyself." From A Course in Miracles, Dr. Jampolsky
developed the concepts of Attitudinal Healing. Through Attitudinal Healing, I discovered A
Course in Miracles and the importance of spirituality.

The Karmic Classroom

We choose many paths in life. These paths include
education, marital status, profession, vocation, etc. The soul chooses our personality for
the purpose of balancing its Karmic debt in the universe. Teaching places us in a position
to come face to face with a multitude of personalities. Dealing with a multitude of
personalities daily places us face to face with our ego and our Karmic imbalance. Teaching
fosters our Karmic balancing act.

Teachers develop a relationship with their students.
Each relationship affords student and teacher the opportunity to deal with different
aspects of their personality. We may consider ourselves blessed for choosing teaching as a
profession. It is one of the best paths in life for accessing opportunities for spiritual
growth and healing.

We are all teachers and students to one another.
Relationships are such that individual perceptions of reality have much to teach each
member of the relationship. As teachers, we trust that everything that happens between us
and our students is in the good interest of both. We try to convey to our students that
all their experiences are opportunities from which to learn.

Offering a sense of gratitude to our students for
the opportunity to participate in the Karmic classroom goes a long way to helping them
recognize that being a part of the classroom is a desirable experience.

Ah!

The Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree for a long, long
time. He sought enlightenment. Jesus spoke from the heart. He offered salvation through
forgiveness. Forgiveness does not come from God, as God's creations, like itself, are
perfect, needing no forgiveness. Lao Tzu spoke of the journey. It is the journey not the
destination that offers us the rich rewards of life.

For the Buddha, Jesus, Lao Tzu, and for us there
come moments where we see the light, where the "Ah" in our being is so apparent
that it cannot be ignored. It is a moment of personal satisfaction and relief. For many
people, it does not happen often. With consciousness, it can happen more often.

Ken Keyes, in the Handbook to Higher
Consciousness, states that happiness is a moment of recognition that all is right with
the world. Bliss is when we string these moments together long enough to have them present
in the eternal now. It may take years to obtain this level of consciousness. Some people
never do. When it happens, it is akin to the good feeling that we have when we
"figure something out." It is the recognition that we truly understand. We
recognize it when we say, "Ah!"

The concept of "Ah!" (sometimes called
grace) is the recognition of a higher authority outside ourselves. It is letting go of the
problems at hand. When we reach this state of enlightenment, we know it. We know it as amazing
grace! It is an ah-moment when all is well with the world.

Beyond the Classroom

Genevieve Weirich is a special education teacher.
She is the Director of the Attitudinal Healing Center of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her book,
Attitudinal Healing, A Guide for Groups and Individuals is the culmination of many
years of work. It guides group participants to give up the fears that are linked to their
past.

The book presents Attitudinal Healing concepts to a
peer support group that meets regularly. It is based upon Gerald Jampolskys book, Love
is Letting Go of Fear. Ms. Weirichs book is an excellent guide for those who
wish to use the concepts of Attitudinal Healing in a structured setting. Topics covered
include: healing as Inner Peace, psychological aspects of grief, forgiveness, fears
experienced with serious illness, and releasing blocks to love.

Teachers can always practice Attitudinal Healing in
the classroom. I encounter large number of wanting students. They are angry, disruptive
and lost. A Course in Miracles statesthere are just two emotions: fear and
love. These students are very fearful. They call out for love. They are starving for
attention and caring.

The classroom is a busy, dynamic place. Practicing
Attitudinal Healing while teaching may only go so far. If each moment in our lives serves
Karmic balance, then possibly, it is up to us to consider instituting an Attitudinal
Healing Support Group.

Recognizing the value of Attitudinal Healing on an
equal par with academics or sports may be difficult. However, many problems with education
and the schools may be alleviated through Attitudinal Healing. Certainly, practicing its
principles adds to the positive Karmic balance of the individual and the universe.

We can practice being still. Through the murmuring
of the ego we may hear the voice of Inner Peace. It will guide us and tell us what to do.

Summary

Everything, everyone that we encounter establishes a relationship
between itself and us, the I.

The positions and the attitudes we hold are seen in their intensity
based upon our preprogrammed response to them.

The personality requires healing. It is that part of the soul that
the soul chooses to work out some of its unfinished business.

The soul chooses our personality for the purpose balancing our Karmic
debt in the universe.

We are all teachers and students to one another.

Ah!

recognizes a higher authority outside ourselves.

Practicing Attitudinal Healing adds to the positive Karmic balance of
the universe.

Prayer for Guidance

I am here only to be truly helpful. I am here to
represent him who sent me. I do not have to worry about what to say or what to do, because
he who sent me will direct me. I am content to be wherever he wishes, knowing he goes
there with me. I will be healed as I let him teach me to heal.